terrorism: "...the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics, or individuals to attain a political objective.

Terrorism is defined in the U.S. by the Code of Federal Regulations as: "..the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85)

These acts appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping.

Terrorism is the unlawful use or threatened use, of force, intimidation, and/or violence by a person or an organizedgroup against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

Leftist Terrorism, often referred to as radical terrorism, is terrorism that embraces the fringe left side of the political spectrum (Countries that are hostile to dissident terrorist movements often also see violence from the far left as well).

Terrorism came to be associated with drastic abuse of power and related to the notion of tyranny as rule based on fear, a recurring theme in political philosophy.

This type of terrorism is, by and large, indiscriminate in its choice of target: it attacks men and women of whatever political (or apolitical) views, social class, and walk of life; young and old, adults and children.

Their judgment on terrorism depends on their view of the good to be promoted by its use and on their assessment of the utility of terrorism as a means of promoting it.

If terrorism is defined strictly in terms of attacks on non-military targets, a number of attacks on military installations and soldiers' residences could not be included in the statistics.

In order to cut through the Gordian definitional knot, terrorism expert A. Schmid suggested in 1992 in a report for the then UN Crime Branch that it might be a good idea to take the existing consensus on what constitutes a "war crime" as a point of departure.

"Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby - in contrast to assassination - the direct targets of violence are not the main targets.

Terrorism exploits the relative vulnerability of the civilian 'underbelly' - the tremendous anxiety, and the intense media reaction evoked by attacks against civilian targets.

The proposed definition emphasizes that terrorism is not the result of an accidental injury inflicted on a civilian or a group of civilians who stumbled into an area of violent political activity, but stresses that this is an act purposely directed against civilians.

www.yahoodi.com /peace/terrorism.html (757 words)

“Terrorism” -(Site not responding. Last check: )

The term "terrorism" is often used to assert that the political violence of an enemy is immoral, wanton, and unjustified.

According to definition of terrorism typically used by states, academics, counter-terrorism experts, and non-governmental organizations, "terrorists" are actors who don't belong to any recognized armed forces and who don't adhere to their rules, and who are therefore regarded as "rogue actors".

The words "terrorism" and "terror" originally referred to methods employed by regimes to control their own populations through fear, a tactic seen in totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.

Terrorism poses a grave threat to individuals’ lives and nationalsecurity around the world.

INTERPOL has therefore made available various resources to support member countries in their efforts to protect their citizens from terrorism, including bio-terrorism; firearms and explosives; attacks against civil aviation; maritime piracy; and weapons of mass destruction.

Member countries are also encouraged to report on other crimes which may be linked to terrorism, such as suspicious financial transactions, weapons trafficking, money laundering, falsified travel and identity documents, and seizures of nuclear, chemical and biological materials.

Canada believes that terrorism is a long-term global challenge that demands a consistent and comprehensive coordinated international response based upon agreed common goals, norms, standards, values and institutions.

The fight against terrorism must be a multi-pronged effort including diplomacy, intelligence, security and law enforcement, customs and immigration, transportation, justice and finance expertise.

Measures taken to counter terrorism must be in accordance with international law, in particular human rights, humanitarian and refugee law.

As terrorism becomes an increasing threat, people are discussing the issue of "rights versus protection." In other words, many government agencies are talking about limiting public information access, increasing security, and other actions that might reduce civil liberties.

Terrorism has been a part of human history since the beginning of time.

Though its objectives have always been the same, to use terror in pursuing political or social agendas, its power has never been as frighteningly high as it is now.

CombatingTerrorism: Observations on National Strategies Related to Terrorism, by Raymond J. Decker, director, defense capabilities and management issues, before the Subcommittee on NationalSecurity, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, House Committee on Government Reform.GAO-03-519T, March 3, 2003.

Centre for the Study of Terrorism and PoliticalViolence (CSTPV), St Andrews 'The primary focus of the centre is the study of terrorism and related forms of politicalviolence.'

Terrorism Research Center, USA 'The Center is dedicated to informing the public of the phenomena of terrorism and information warfare.

Part of a larger terrorism section of the CFR web site, it provides fact sheet information in the form of questions and answers on several aspects of terrorism, such as organizations, causes, individuals, policy and responses.

The UN special section also links to actions by the General Assembly, a section of Terrorism and Disarmament, chapter VII of the UnitedNations Charter, and conventions on terrorism, particularly the International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (PDF).

The MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), is a one-stop resource for comprehensive research and information on domestic and international terrorism, terroristincidents, terrorism-related legal documents, and terroristgroups.

The act of terrorism is defined and very independent of the cause that motivates it.

I feel that life in general and each individual life in particular is a cultural characteristic that has a tremendous impact on terrorism, especially when in certain societies where people identify themselves in terms of group members.

Yes, I know this is horrid, but it is a reality in terrorism as is the using of women and children as human shields for covert operations.

The term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant (1) targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.

Because international terrorism has a direct impact on U.S. interests, it is the primary focus of this report.

We also consider as acts of terrorism attacks on military installations or on armed military personnel when a state of military hostilities does not exist at the site, such as bombings against U.S. bases in Europe, the Philippines, or elsewhere.